Why is it important to cleanse your face before going to sleep?

Brushing, showers, shaving and face cleansing could already be on your list of things to do twice a day. Most people understand the need to brush their teeth and wash their faces first thing in the morning and last thing at night. So, why do most people skip the facial cleanse before going to bed?

Well, there could be a number of reasons for why you end up skipping this important ritual but the most prevalent ones is exhaustion and boredom. Simply being too tired or bored by the end of the day means going through the routine of ridding your face of all the depict and debris it’s come into contact with throughout the day seems like a dull chore. After a long day at work you might be tempted to just snuggle in front of the screen and watch netflix till you fall asleep.

But a good way to stay on track with this routine is to understand why it must be done and why its important in the first place. So, here’s a couple of the most important reasons you must cleanse your face before bed.

1. There’s science behind it.

Dermatologists suggest that cleansing your face at night could be the single most important thing you do for your health and beauty. They’ve been advising clients to do a simple routine and make a habit of it for decades now. They believe that the skin has a rare opportunity to be replenished while you’re asleep for those eight hours. Blood supply to the face is increased and a number of essential metabolic processes take place during this period of rest.

Essentially, Mother Nature offers you a finite window of opportunity during your resting hours. Your skin is being repaired and replenished and the most important things you could provide it must be given before you fall asleep. It’s an opportunity you can’t afford to miss if you’re serious about taking care of your health and looks.

2. Your skin’s been in contact with the world throughout the day.

Let’s face it (excuse the pun), your skin comes into contact with an innumerable array of things while you go about your daily routine.

The biggest factor is your hands coming into contact with a lot of different things which may be covered in dirt and bacteria. If you have a habit of touching your face repeatedly with your hand then all those bacteria and dirt particles will get transferred to the skin on your face.

If you don’t wash your face before going to sleep, the bacteria will have a lot of time and a perfect environment to multiply and cause damage to your skin. Bacteria settling into the pores of your skin, which are wide open during sleep, is the single biggest reason for any acne outbreaks you may experience.

Cleaning your face before going to bed will reduce the dirt, bacteria and oils that may have accumulated there throughout the day.

3. Its the best time to use products

As mentioned before, sleep is that time when the skin on your face begins its natural self-healing and repairing processes. The pores open up, metabolism increases, blood flows more freely and dead skin cells break away. Now, if your face is covered in sweat or dirt, then your skin doesn’t have a clear palette to work on while your sleeping. You’ve thus missed an opportunity to use the tons of facial beauty products you’ve bought over the years.

Cleansing your face will remove this layer of foreign debris and sweat and clear the way for your skin to absorb moisturizers and lotions more efficiently. The absorption of these essential products is generally boosted during this period of replenishment. So if you’ve got a lot of anti-wrinkle and anti-aging products, apply them before you sleep so that the pores and skin cells react with them more effectively.

Consider using a high-performing serum or cream for best results. Also, moisturize your skin before bed since the moisturizer you may have used in the morning would most probably have evaporated by now.

Furthermore, the longer the sweat stays on your skin the more the oils in it have an opportunity to break down and clog up you pores. Over time the effects get more severe and noticeable and if you haven’t cleaned your face before bed in a long while your pores may have become permanently large.

Avoid these common issues by regularly cleansing your face. From my personal experience, my dermatologist suggests doing it earlier than usual if you find I don’t have the time or I’m too busy late at night. Around 7pm or 8pm may be the best time for you to cleanse on a regular night.

If you find that you have ample time to do a cleanse before going to bed each night it may be a good chance to use a deep facial cleanser before exfoliating your skin at the same time. The deeper you can go to your natural skin layer and clean it thoroughly the better the results you’ll experience over time. Try taking some before and after photographs on your phone to see the difference and also pay close attention to how the troubled spots on your face are doing over time.

You could also consider applying a face mask from time to time to rid your skin of the blackheads and clean the pores. Don’t over do the exfoliating and masking because the acids present in exfoliating products can penetrate the skin too deep, take away too many skin layers and leave your face feeling sensitive.

If all this is too much for you and you find that you simply don’t have the time or patience to bother with this long and arduous process make your routine a little simple. Use warm water and a gentle face wash to clean your face quickly and effectively and then use a cotton ball to wipe away all the harmful dirt and debris from your face as you go about your nighttime routine.

Remember, even a basic and simple cleanse is better than no cleanse at all.

Oh boy, why bother cleansing. Got stuff to do.

At this point you may be left wondering why you must bother with a morning cleanse if you’ve done one with such effort the night before? Well, the nighttime repair work your skin has been through has left a lot of natural oils and dead skin cells on top of your skin when you wake up. Although these elements are entirely naturally occurring water alone will not wash them all away. Only about 65% of this oil and debris is washed away with water. That’s the main reason you must cleanse your face both in the morning and at night.

Hopefully this gives you a good idea about the benefits in adopting a cleanse routine for night, and why not a day time. You might even start getting a better sleep knowing that your skin is being repaired while you rest.

Wet shaving enthusiast, ex-beard wearer and proud blogger of the Manliness Kit. Besides my interest in man grooming, I'm also a gadget geek (where most of my spare income goes), and passionate football (soccer) fan. I've got a beautiful girlfriend who puts up with me and my hobbies on daily basis and for that, I 'm very grateful.

One Response

I didn’t realize there was so much science behind cleaning your face! It’s interesting that you point out that skin has the opportunity to be replenished while you’re asleep. I bet having lots of dirt and oils left over from the previous day doesn’t help that process. I will definitely need to get into a better habit of keeping my face clean and find products that work for me!